Feb. 24, 2001
NEXT UP FOR ILLINOIS...
Illinois hosts Iowa in the Big Ten regular season finale at Assembly Hall at
noon on Sunday afternoon. The Illini enter the contest on a two-game winning
streak after back-to-back victories over Michigan State and at Indiana. At
9-6 in the Big Ten, the Illini need a win to clinch the fifth-seed in the
Big Ten. Iowa is 11-4 in the conference and 16-9 overall. The Hawkeyes are
in a tight battle for second in the Big Ten. Iowa is coming off a 50-47
victory over Michigan State.
THE SERIES
Iowa leads the all-time series, 32-13. Three of those wins have come under
Head Coach Theresa Grentz. Illinois won nine of the first 12 meetings. Iowa
dominated the series from 1984-96, with Illinois winning just once. Iowa won
21 games in a row and 25 of 26 games.
That streak was broken in 1997 with an 83-75 Illinois victory in
Champaign. Illinois has won the last three meetings in Champaign. The last
Iowa victory at Illinois was on Dec. 27, 1995. Illinois hasn't won in Iowa
City since 1983.
THE COACHES
Illinois is coached by Hall of Fame Coach Theresa Grentz, who enters the
contest with an overall record of 574-224 in 27 seasons and 113-68 in six
seasons at Illinois. Grentz guided Rutgers to the 1982 national title in one
of 19 seasons coaching the Scarlet Knights.
Lisa Bluder is in her first at Iowa and her 17th season as a college
head coach. Bluder has a 372-161 career record, including a 187-106 in ten
seasons at Drake and a 169-36 record in six seasons at NAIA St. Ambrose.
Last Time Out
With the shot clock winding down and a shot-to-game clock differential of
only a few seconds, Dawn Vana hit a turn-around jumper to seal a 54-50
Illinois victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. With the hard-fought road
victory, Illinois moves o 14-13 on the year, 9-6 in the Big Ten.
Junior Allison Curtin once again had an exceptional performance. After
scoring 25 points, going 4-8 from behind the arc, and recording seven
rebounds and four assists against Michigan State on Sunday, Curtin continued
to lead the young Illinois squad. She once again hit 50 percent from
three-point range, going 3-6, en route to scoring a game-high 21 points.
Curtin also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Both teams got off to a slow start with only six total points being
scored in the first five minutes of the contest. The Hoosiers continued to
be plagued by cold shooting, allowing Illinois to jump out to a 21-9
advantage with 7:23 remaining in the first half. Despite early troubles from
the field, Indiana came back to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room at
halftime.
Indiana led until Shavonna Hunter put the Illini back on top at 45-43
with 7:29 to play in the game. The Illini never trailed after that point,
although Indiana was able to tie the score at 47-47 with 3:32 remaining. A
lay-up by Iveta Marcauskaite gave Illinois the lead for good at the 3:02
mark.
Marcauskaite was the only player other than Allison Curtin to score in
double figures. Marcauskaite scored 10. Dawn Vana tied Curtin for the team
lead in rebounds with seven.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Illinois is tied with Michigan for fifth place in the Big Ten standings with
a 9-6 conference mark. Indiana sits one game back in seventh at 8-7.
Considering Michigan beat Illinois twice and Indiana beat Michigan and lost
to Illinois, here is how Sunday's game impacts the seeding:
If Illinois defeats Iowa and Penn State defeats Michigan, the Illini would
get the fifth seed in the Big Ten Tournament at 10-6. Michigan would be 9-7.
If Illinois defeats Iowa and Michigan defeats Penn State, then the Illini
would get the sixth seed in the tourney because both Michigan and Illinois
would be 10-6 and the Wolverines win the tiebreaker because of head-to-head.
If Iowa defeats Illinois and Michigan defeats Penn State, Illinois would
get the sixth seed. Michigan would be 10-6 (5th). Even if Indiana defeats
Northwestern, Illinois and Indiana would tie for sixth (9-7), but with the
Illini, having defeated Indiana, would win the tiebreaker.
If Iowa defeats Illinois, Penn State defeats Michigan and Indiana defeats
Northwestern, there would be a three way tie (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan)
for fifth at 9-7. The tiebreaker is head-to-head again. Since in games
between the other two schools, Michigan is 2-1, Indiana is 1-1 and Illinois
is 1-2, then Michigan would be fifth, Indiana sixth and Illinois seventh.
The fifth place team would get a bye into the quarterfinals. The sixth
place team would face 11th seed Northwestern in the first round, while the
seventh seeded team meets #10 Minnesota.
Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State are tied for second at 11-4. Wisconsin
hosts Ohio State and Penn State hosts Michigan today. Here are the
tiebreakers between the three teams:
If Iowa, PSU and Wisconsin tie, then Iowa would be second, Wisconsin
third and Penn State fourth. Both Iowa and Wisconsin are 1-0 vs. Penn State
and split their head-to-head meeting. That makes Penn State fourth on
head-to-head. The next tiebreaker is head-to-head with the first place team
(Purdue). Iowa is 1-0, while Wisconsin is 0-1.
If Iowa and Wisconsin are in a two-way tie, Iowa gets the higher seed by
virtue of the above mentioned criteria.
If Penn State ties either Wisconsin or Iowa, the Lions get the lower seed
by virtue of head-to-head.
What we do know is that #8 Ohio State will play #9 Michigan State for the
right to play #1 Purdue and that Minnesota will be #10 and Northwestern is
#11.
ILLINOIS BEEFS UP DEFENSE
Illinois gave up fewer points in the past two wins over Michigan State
(52-50) and Indiana (54-50) than it did in the Illini's previous game with
Penn State (a 101-80 loss).
In the two wins, IU and MSU shot a combined .406 (41-101) from the field
and just .192 (5 of 26) from three-point range
Another big factor was fouls. Illinois had a season-low 12 fouls in each
one of those games. MSU didn't get into the bonus the entire first half and
not until 1:51 left in the second half. Indiana didn't get into the bonus in
either half. MSU and Indiana combined for just 23 free throws attempted
(Indiana 6 of 8 and MSU, 7 of 15).
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Allison Curtin became the quickest Illinois player to 1,000 points in just
her first game of her junior season.
Head Coach Theresa Grentz registered her 100th win at Illinois in an 80-62
victory over Clemson in the season opener
The Illini made their first trip to Hawaii, playing in the inaugural
Women's Maui Invitational. The Illini defeated Alcorn State and lost to
Tennessee in the finals.
The Illini set a Redbird Arena record for free throw (29) and free-throw
attempts (40) at Illinois State on Dec. 7.
Illinois played in the second ever women's basketball game at the United
Center vs. DePaul. Allison Curtin came off the bench to score 17 points.
A balanced scoring attack and 72 percent shooting in the second half
lifted the Illini to a 92-74 victory over Missouri. Four Illinois players
scored between 18 and 23 points.
Allison Curtin had a double-double (10 points and 10 assists) and Iveta
Marcauskaite scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Illini to a victory
over Auburn, 73-56, in front of a nationally televised CBS audience. The win
snapped the Tigers' 55-game home court winning streak.
Curtin made it three double-doubles in a row with a 13-point, 11-rebound
performance vs. Georgia and then scored 23 points and 10 rebounds vs. Penn
State.
Illinois has beaten three ranked teams after a 75-71 win over #9 Penn
State.
Dawn Vana scored her first career double-double as the Illini defeated
Ohio State in Columbus, 75-73. Vana also had six assists, the last coming on
a feed to Iveta Marcauskaite, who scored to break a tie in the final
seconds.
Illinois won three straight Big Ten road games for the first time in
school history, winning at Northwestern, Ohio St., and Michigan St. over a
six-day span. Counting the win over Penn State the Illini won four games in
eight days.
Illinois set a home record for most points at home vs. a Big Ten team in a
101-71 victory over Minnesota on Feb. 4.
Illinois set a school record for fewest points allowed against a Big Ten
team by allowing only 45 points against Northwestern on Feb. 8 and
out-rebounded the Wildcats by 17.
Illinois put on a defensive showing in wins over Michigan State and
Indiana, coming from behind to defeat the Spartans, 52-50, and the Hoosiers,
54-50.
SENIOR DAY?
The last home game of the year is traditionally Senior Day, but this year
the Illini have no seniors. Everyone is back next season.
Incidentally, Illinois has spoiled Senior Day at Indiana each of the last
two seasons, winning last year 72-62 and this year 54-50 in the Hoosiers'
last home game.
UPDATE ON AMINATA YANNI
Aminata Yanni suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first half of the
Illini's game with Minnesota on Jan. 28. Yanni tore the ACL in her left knee
and will undergo surgery on March. Yanni had been a major cog for the Illini
off the bench.
Yanni had scored seven points in five minutes off the bench during the
Minnesota game, including a three-pointer.
Yanni had been especially potent from three-point range, making 12 of 30 from behind the arc (.400) after making 14 treys during her entire high
school career. She made 4 of 7 three-pointers in a win at Michigan State.
She scored 46 points in the Illini's three road wins over Northwestern,
Ohio State and Michigan State during the week of Jan. 8.
For the year Yanni averaged 7.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while
ranking third on the team in three-pointers.
CAREER MILESTONES NEARING
Allison Curtin -- 20 field goals for 500, 1 three-pointer for 100, 10 points
for 1,400 points, 19 assists for 300.
Cindy Dallas -- 11 points for 200.
Shavonna Hunter -- 22 points for 500, 27 rebounds for 200, 20 assists for
200, 17 steals for 150.
Iveta Marcauskaite -- 35 points for 350, 46 rebounds for 200, 25 field goals
for 150.
Dawn Vana -- 24 points for 450, 28 field goals for 200, 37 rebounds for 400.
CURTIN NAMED CAPTAIN OF FARM TEAM
Allison Curtin has also been named the captain of the All-American Farm Team
as named by Successful Farming Magazine, signifying the top womens'
basketball player that grew up in farming. The program is sponsored by
Dodge.
TRENDS, ETC.
Illinois has had more assists than turnovers four times this season and
all four times have resulted in Illinois victories (vs. Illinois State,
19-16 and Auburn, 22-15, vs. Ohio State, 21-20, and Minnesota, 24-18).
Illinois also had as many assists (20) as turnovers (20) in wins over Penn
State and Michigan State (16-16). Thus the Illini are 6-0 when they have at
least as many assists as turnovers.
Six different players have led Illinois in scoring this year. Allison
Curtin (10) and Iveta Marcauskaite (7) have led the most
Shavonna Hunter had 14 three-pointers all of last year and now has a
team-leading 27 this season.
The Illini are 9-2 when committing less than 20 turnovers.
Allison Curtin is shooting .442 from three point-range (23 of 52) in Big
Ten play after shooting just .267 from the arc (8 of 30) during
non-conference play. As a team Illinois is .356 from three-point range in
conference games and and .272 during non-conference games.
Curtin has four double-doubles this season, two have come with double
digit assists (at Auburn and at Penn State). She has more assists than
turnovers in 16 of 26 games.
Illinois had the fewest field goals made and attempted of the season vs.
Michigan State (18-42).
The Illini are averaging 70.1 points per game, the fewest under Theresa
Grentz. The 1995-96 team, the first under Grentz, averaged 73.5 ppg.
Last season the Illini set school records for free throws made (615) and
attempted (862). This year they are 382 of 552. Allison Curtin has a .808
career free-throw percentage (323-400).
Illinois had a season-low 12 fouls vs. Michigan State and Indiana and has
had just seven games with 20 or more teams fouls.
Holly Wilson scored a season-high ten points at Michigan.
Karen Hagberg has scored 19 of her 26 points this year in the last six
games.
Illinois tied the school record for best road Big Ten mark in school
history at 5-3. Illinois has as more wins (25) on the road in the Big Ten in
Coach Grentz's five seasons as it had in the first 12 years of Big Ten play.
Prior to Coach Grentz's arrival the Illini had just one season of .500 or
better on the road and a combined 20-96 (.172) conference road record.
Since then the Illini are 25-23 (.521).
MARCAUSKAITE CHASES FG RECORD
Iveta Marcauskaite has been deadly at times from the field as she chases the
Illinois single-season field goal record. Marcauskaite is currently ahead of
Jonelle Polk's record .585 set in 1985-86. Marcauskaite is shooting .584
(125 of 214). That ranks fourth in the Big Ten this year. Earlier this
season, she made 20 of 28 field goals in three straight games ( vs.
Missouri, Michigan and Auburn).
Marcauskaite posted her first double-double of her career against
Wisconsin after coming close on two other occasions. She had 24 points and
nine rebounds vs. Auburn and 20 points and nine rebounds vs. Purdue.
VANA NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dawn Vana, a junior from Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Ill., has
been key to the Illinois success. Tuesday the Big Ten honored Vana by naming
her co-Big Ten Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 8-14.
Vana was especially key in a 75-73 win at Ohio State. Vana had 14
points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in the contest. With less than ten
seconds to play, Vana took the in-bounds pass and fed freshman Iveta
Marcauskaite for the game-winning basket. She started the week by scoring 16
points and grabbing six rebounds vs. Northwestern (an 88-65 victory), then
capped off the three-game trip with a 12-point, four-rebound, three-assist
performance day in the 72-59 win at Michigan St..
For the week, Vana scored 42 points, grabbed 24 rebounds, had nine
assists and made 17 of 29 shots from the field (.586). She ranks second on
the team and 14th in the Big Ten in field-goal shooting (.523). She has a
streak of five straight games in double figure scoring and has improved her
scoring average from 6.7 points to 9.5 points per game in less than a month.
VANA HAVING CAREER SEASON
Dawn Vana has already matched most of the numbers from her previous two
seasons combined. This year Vana has 249 points, 122 rebounds, and 83
assists in 748 minutes played. Coming into her junior season, Vana had 177
points, 142 rebounds, and 51 assists in 759 minutes played combined in her
freshman and sophomore seasons.
Vana has been a prolific interior passer which has led to 83 assists. She
had a career-high nine assists vs. Penn State on Thursday. Vana has also
been deadly at times from the field, making .515 of her shots this year.
Many of her shots have come from 15-17 feet.
Vana set the tone for her season by scoring 15 points on 6 of 6 shooting
vs. Clemson earlier this year.
MOST PROLIFIC SCORING FRESHMEN
Both Iveta Marcauskaite and Anne O'Neil are on the verge of entering
Illini's freshmen scoring list. Lisa Bradley is fifth on the list with 306
points in 1985. Allison Curtin tops the charts with 400 points in 1999.
The freshmen duo can establish themselves as the most prolific scoring
duo in Illinois history. The current record for most points scored by an
Illini freshmen duo is 623 in 1981-82 by Kendra Gantt (312) and Cindy Stein
(311). With four games left in the regular season, Marcauskaite and O'Neil
should top that chart. Marcauskaite currently has 315 points while O'Neil
has scored 302 for a combined 617.
Big Ten Tournament Tickets on Sale
All-session tickets for the 2001 Big Ten Women's Basketball Grand Tournament
in Grand Rapids, MI, on March 1-4, go went on sale Monday, January 22.
All-session tickets are $45 and provide admission for the five-session,
10-game Tournament. Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, at
the Van Andel Arena Box Office in downtown Grand Rapids or by contacting the
arena at 616-742-6600. Through the end of January, you can also purchase
tickets via all 11 Big Ten athletic ticket offices. The Illinois ticket
office numbers is 217/333-5540.
Single-session tickets will not go on sale until mid-February. For
additional information, please contact the Grand Rapids Local Organizing
Committee at 616-453-5766.
Consecutive Big Ten winners
With the win over Indiana, the Illini kept their streak of winning Big Ten
seasons to five. Currently Purdue has the longest string with seven straight
winning seasons while Penn State is the only other school with multiple
winning conference records running with three straight.
ILLINI INDIVIDUALS IN BIG TEN RANKINGS
Allison Curtin: 2nd in steals (2.85), 7th in scoring (14.5), 7th in
three-point percentage (.378), 8th in assists (4.11), 10th in free-throw
percentage (.769), 8th in assist/turnover ratio (1.32), 14th in
three-pointers made (1.15), 18th in rebounding (5.5)
Cindy Dallas: 15th in steals (1.77), 16th in rebounding (5.7)
Shavonna Hunter: 7th in steals (2.04), 10th in free-throw percentage
(.767)
Iveta Marcauskaite: 4th in field-goal shooting (.581), 10th in blocked shots
(0.74), 17th in rebounding (5.7), 19th in scoring (11.7).
Anne O'Neil: 25th in scoring (11.3)
Dawn Vana: 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.18), 13th in assists (3.35),
15th in field-goal shooting (.505)
Illini Double-Doubles
Allison Curtin (7 career, 4 season): 16 points, 10 rebounds vs. UC-Santa
Barbara (11/21/99), 22 points, 11 rebounds vs. Boston College (11/22/99), 19
points, 12 rebounds vs. Wisconsin (2/24/00), 10 points, 10 assists vs.
Auburn (12/30/00), 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Georgia (1/4/01), 23 points,
10 rebounds vs. Penn State (1/7/01), 11 points, 10 assists at Penn State
(2/8/01)
Karen Hagberg (1 career): 15 points, 10 rebounds vs. Michigan State
(1/30/00).
Shavonna Hunter (1 career): 13 points, 10 steals vs. Kansas (12/18/99)
Iveta Marcauskaite (1 career, 1 season): 16 points, 10 rebounds vs.
Wisconsin (1/25/01)
Cindy Dallas (2 career, 2 season: 12 points, 10 rebounds vs. Kansas,
11/28/00, 11 points, 12 rebounds vs. Northwestern (2/8/01)
Dawn Vana (1 career, 1 season): 14 points, 14 rebounds vs. Ohio State
(1/11/01)
GOING POLLING
Although Iowa is ranked No. 25 in the latest Associated Press Poll, the
Hawkeyes received just three votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. In
fact Illinois received four votes, one more than Iowa.
ILLINI AND THE RANKINGS
Even at 13-13, Illinois continues to get votes in both AP and ESPN/USA Today
Coaches' Poll The Illini were ranked in each of the three weeks of the
season.
Last year Illinois was ranked No. 12 during the pre-season by both the
coaches and writers. The Illini stayed in the rankings for 13 weeks,
reaching as high as No. 10 on Nov. 29 following a win over Notre Dame.
ELITE TEAMS ON SCHEDULE
Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz doesn't believe in scheduling a bunch
of cream puffs in her schedule. A closer look at the powerful foes reveal
these observations:
The Illini play three of last year's final four teams (Connecticut,
Tennessee, and Penn State).
On the slate are four of last year's Top Five Teams (No. 1 UConn, No. 2
Tennessee, No. 3 Penn State, and No. 5 Georgia) to go along with No. 16
Purdue.
Nine teams made the NCAA Tournament last year.
Eight teams are ranked in the current AP Top 25, including four in the top
5: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 Connecticut, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Purdue, No. 19
Penn State, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 22 Texas, and No. 25 Iowa.
GRENTZ TO HALL OF FAME
Theresa Grentz has been elected into the women's basketball Hall of Fame.
Grentz makes to the Hall in just the third class of honorees. Counting the
Class of 2001, just 61 people have that distinction. The formal induction
ceremony will be June 8-9 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Coach Grentz is being honored not only for her accomplishments as a coach
but also for her paccolades as a player. The coach was an imposing
player on the Immaculata AIAW National Championship teams from 1972-74 and
was the coach of the Olympic Team.
Grentz is beginning her 27th season as a head coach and sixth as the
head coach for the Fighting Illini. She has compiled a 573-224 record
overall and 112-69 mark at Illinois.
Besides her impressive credentials, Grentz is honored for her
advancement of the game of basketball. Her 1992 Olympic Team was the
catalyst for the present day women's professional league. She is currently
President of the WBCA.
ILLINI SIGN IMPRESSIVE CLASS
Jere Issenmann was the first player to commit to the Illini from this
class, having made a verbal commitment in February. Playing on a talented
team will be nothing new for Issenmann since she plays for Mason (Ohio) High
School, the second-ranked team in the country. She has started every game
for the past three seasons (79 straight games). She averaged 10.5 points and
2.7 rebounds per contest in 1999-2000. Issenmann will bring another
three-point threat to the Illinois team, having scored 54 three-pointers in
1999-2000 after sinking 62 or 47.7 percent of her long-range shots as a
sophomore.
Tiffanie Guthrie (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) has earned almost every
award imaginable. Twice she earned Greater Miami Valley Conference MVP
honors, playing for the top team in the Dayton, Ohio, area,
Trotwood-Madison. She was also twice named All-Ohio, one of the top girls'
basketball states in the country and has also earned The Division I Area
Player of the Year honor by the Dayton Daily News.
Angelina Williams is the first Grentz recruit from the Chicago Public
league since coming to Illinois in 1996.
Like Guthrie, Williams' influence has been huge both scholastically and
in the summer. With Williams guidance, her high school, George Washington,
earned a berth in the state finals after winning a competitive Chicago
Public League. Washington advanced to the state championship game before
bowing to Buffalo Grove in overtime. Williams had two double?doubles in the
state tournament, totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds in the quarterfinals
and amassing 17 points and 16 rebounds in the final.
ILLINOIS PICKED THIRD IN BIG TEN, CURTIN SELECTED ALL-CONFERENCE
Despite losing four seniors, Illinois continues to garner the respect from
around the conference. The Illini were selected third in the pre-season
conference poll by both the coaches and the media. Allison Curtin was
selected First Team All-Big Ten from both entities as well.
PERSONALLY SPEAKING....
Illinois freshman Iveta Marcauskaite speaks four different languages and
plans to learn two more -- Spanish and Italian.
Shavonna Hunter is wearing No. 23, her old high school number, this year
after donning No. 4 last season. Teammate Melissa Parker wore No. 23 last
season.
Nearly 1,400 fans have bought tickets from Taylorville, to attend an
Illini game each of the past two seasons since Allison Curtin signed with
the Illini. Allison and sister, Suzanne, are No. 2 and No.3 in a family of
nine. Older brother T.J. (22) was actually the first sibling to attend UI.
The other six children of Fred and Mary Curtin are -- Danny (17), a starter
on the playoff Taylorville football team, Meredith (15), Candace (13), Keith
(9), Joe (7), and Mary Kate (2). Suzanne earned a scholarship for the
2000-2001 school year by the program.
Junior Yolanda Smith's younger brother, Dwayne, is a redshirt freshman
wide receiver for the Illinois football team. Dwayne caught a touchdown pass
in the Illini's season finale at Northwestern.
At 6-6, Brenda Blackburn is the tallest player to ever play at Illinois.
Cindy Dallas played three straight games for the first time in her
collegiate career after suffering an ACL injury each of the past two
seasons.
Anne O'Neil holds the Iowa High School scoring record for a season (30.3
ppg) and career (2,494).
NEXT ON GRENTZ SHOW
Dawn Vana will be the featured guests on next week's Theresa Grentz Show.
The show airs on Champaign's CBS affiliate WCIA (Channel 3) at 6:30 p.m.
each Monday. The show is broadcast live in front of a studio audience at
Busey Bank (corner of Kirby and Prospect) in Champaign. Admission to the
show is free.
Seven stations for women's basketball
The Illini Sports Network includes seven stations from across the state
which carry University of Illinois women's basketball on the airwaves:
WDWS-AM 1400, Champaign
WHOW-AM 1520, Clinton
WHOW-FM 95.9, Clinton
WDAN-AM 1490, Danville
WPRS-AM 1440, Paris
WHCO AM-1230, Sparta
WTAX, AM-1240, Springfield
WTIM-FM 97.3, Taylorville
